Sound Production in Animation

In this post I will be examining the different areas of the sound production pipeline. Sound is as important in animation as the visuals, without sound the on-screen events may not make sense or may not portray the correct emotions of the scenes. The production of sound is a long process, but this is necessary as bad sound can ruin an animation.

Stages of sound production:

Scripts-
Scripts are the first part of sound production, they contain information on the animation the sounds are required for. Scripts give the feel of scenes which relate to the types of sound made, but mainly scripts are produced with dialogues for voice actors to follow. There will be a few script writers working on the animation, ensuring that the dialogue is in-keeping with the story, but they also add details on how the characters are feeling or if a sound effect (such as a glass smashing) can also be heard and when.


Foley-
Foley is the production of audio for animation, such as footsteps and everyday sounds. This is needed as there are no such sounds when using animation software unlike films where actor's footsteps would be recorded during filming. Foley sound is used to add a new dimension to the film but also to make it as realistic and relateable as possible. It is required to create and set the scene for the viewers. It is also used to enhance sounds that may not be easily heard either. During foley the person making the sound can use a variety of every-day objects and instruments to create realistic and humerous sounds. For example there is never usually a sound in real life if an object is falling, however in many cartoon programs a sound (much like a flute) can be heard to emphasise factors such as the speed of the fall. Another example of foley exaggerating a sound is in the film 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs', the falling hamburger scene is a good example. This link is a video showing how foley is produced https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-WhK6qQppY


Dope sheets-
Dope sheets are one of the most important parts of sound production, this is the main planning area and is important for proper recording and synchronisation of the sounds. A dope sheet can range from being very simple to very complicated, this decision is based on a variety of factors. A dope sheet lists every single frame of a scene (and eventually the entire animation), some frames have no sound. In the next column the dialogue is listed, for example from frames 10 to 20, the word 'hello' could be said. The 'h' would be placed at frame 10 and last for as many or as few frames as needed, this same process would be followed for the following letters. Depending on where the letters are placed in accordance to the frames the word will change in the way it is said. This planning allows synchronisation to be produced effectively as the animator knows that at frame 10 the character's mouth must be in the correct shape to make it believable. This is where a third column may be added, this shows the phoneme that relates to the sound that is being created. Some animators write the sound, whilst others see how their mouths move in a mirror and draw each shape for each letter. This is also useful for reference when producing the shapes of the character's mouth. Many other columns can be added if required, they could be used to show other characters speaking, or perhaps show when other sounds may occur.
 
Recording-
Once the dope sheet is produced casting begins to find appropriate voice actors. They are required to speak a particular speed following the script and dope sheet, however this can be edited in special sound software to fit the correct number of frames in post production. This is why the dope sheet is so important. The dialogues are recorded many times in a variety of speeds, emotions and voices until the correct one is established. This is also done so that different parts of dialogue can be composited over another if is required. Below is an example of the recording of voices.

Syncing-
This is one of the final areas of sound production, and is the most important. If this is not done properly then it can ruin an entire animation and leave the audience viewing a very unprofessional product. Syncing is not only important for the dialogue and voices, but is hugely important for any foley sound effects and composed music. The dope sheets are again used at this stage, the sound producer and animators ensure the sounds are in sync with the correct frames, however it can be edited at this stage if things do not have the desired sound.